River Cross

[guitar_davey]

Dang, that pump sound at the beginning is so killer! Such attention to detail and willingness to experiment is what makes this album special. But I'm just a music nerd, what do I know?

[Ms Harmless]

I can't wait to hear this song in proper quality

[BDB]

love this song.

but the verse about government...discontent seems out of place from the rest of the song, or am i missing something?

[DeeDee]

This song could have been magic, but instead is just very good.

[stip]

love this song.

but the verse about government...discontent seems out of place from the rest of the song, or am i missing something?

It’s pretty essential - the stripping away and abuse of trust from those who should protect you until there is nothing left - and then at that bottom point still seeing the beauty in the world and people around you as the answer


Which, as a theme, goes all the way back to Ten

[Ms Harmless]

love this song.

but the verse about government...discontent seems out of place from the rest of the song, or am i missing something?

It’s pretty essential - the stripping away and abuse of trust from those who should protect you until there is nothing left - and then at that bottom point still seeing the beauty in the world and people around you as the answer


Which, as a theme, goes all the way back to Ten

yes

it's very clear to me that terrible actions of government aren't just textbook history to Ed, but a big part of his thought life / emotional life

[LetMeSleep]

"I want this dream to last for hever"
"I wish this moment was never hending"

Thank fuck someone said it.

This song is a mess. Matt's contributions are way too heavy handed. Needed to have some less drum kit percussion, I'm thinking more like the Nusrat/Vedder version of Long Road with tablas etc.

[PHATJ]

Easily best closer since All or None or Parting Ways.

[stip]

"I want this dream to last for hever"
"I wish this moment was never hending"

Thank fuck someone said it.

This song is a mess. Matt's contributions are way too heavy handed. Needed to have some less drum kit percussion, I'm thinking more like the Nusrat/Vedder version of Long Road with tablas etc.

that turns it into an altogether different song. The drums need to be big. its not a private song the way long road is

[Ms Harmless]

"I want this dream to last for hever"
"I wish this moment was never hending"

Thank fuck someone said it.

This song is a mess. Matt's contributions are way too heavy handed. Needed to have some less drum kit percussion, I'm thinking more like the Nusrat/Vedder version of Long Road with tablas etc.

that turns it into an altogether different song. The drums need to be big. its not a private song the way long road is

I somehow agree with both of these comments

I see the obtrusive percussion as quite 80s pop / rock, a little unnecessary but lending the song a timeless theatrical drama that lightens what could have been total melancholy; I've already referenced "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by Tight Fit, and "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, both of whose noisy toms are almost laughably inappropriate, but everyone knows that and loves them anyway; I feel as if the wonderful but knowingly, theatrically OTT gospel choir outro is totally in line with this aesthetic, as well; it all may be hard to take as a song in itself, but it makes perfect sense as a closer to this album, which has referenced 80s pop sensibilities all over the place; I also agree that if "River Cross" was ever meant to be a private / intimate song (and I don't know), the new inclusion of the government verse confirms that it is a communal one now

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[guitar_davey]

Easily best closer since All or None or Parting Ways.

Parting Ways is my favourite closer. This one has a very similar emotional weight.

[Ms Harmless]

Listen to 0:00-0:15 and then try to not hear it every time River Cross starts

100%, Paul Simon was another artist I should have named in my own post

[LetMeSleep]

Matt makes this song pretty much unlistenable for me. Way too heavy handed. If he'd used mallets instead of sticks, and if the reverb was less bright it'd help. There needs to be more space and intimacy. Maybe some simple sparse programming like NIN mellow tracks.

I also wouldn't have been adverse to a featured female vocalist (Julien Baker for example) for backing vox and leading a choir. Not as featured as Lykke Li on U2's The Troubles but in that direction.

[armstrsj]

I've struggled to get into this one. I would have preferred a stripped down version. The drums are a bit too Phil Collins...but who knows it could be a grower...

[E.H. Ruddock]

GREAT CLOSER!

[Ms Harmless]

GREAT CLOSER!

I'm digging the all caps

[stip]

The follow up verses in each verse pairing are the song highlights -beautiful and moving

Drifting in the undertow
Can’t spot a figure on dry land
And afterthoughts of safety
When in truth, none to be had
None to be had


River Cross



Always thought I’d cross that river
The other side distant now
As I got close it turned and widened
Arising now, fading out

Drifting in the undertow
Can’t spot a figure on dry land
And afterthoughts of safety
When in truth, none to be had
None to be had

I used to tell time by my shadow
‘til the thunder clouds, they took the stage
These days will end, as do the light’s rays
Another read of the same page

Wide awake through this deepest night
Still waiting on the sun
As the hours seem to multiple
Find a star to solider on
Living beneath a lion’s paw
Knowing nothing can be tamed
Can be tamed


While the government thrives on discontent
And there’s no such thing as clear
Proselytizing and profitizing
As our will all but just disappears
Folded over, forced in a choke hold
Outnumbered and held down

[Ms Harmless]

"I used to tell time by my shadow
‘til the thunder clouds, they took the stage"

I think that's such a lovely way of saying "there used to be sunshine / light in my life, and it gave me a sense of self; but now it's dark and I don't know where I'm going"

[E.H. Ruddock]

GREAT CLOSER!

I'm digging the all caps

lol. I was just doing an impression during my 15 minutes of all caps posting